Just like Myrtle Beach grew into the metropolis it is today (permanent population of 25,000 increasing to 400,000 on any given day of the tourist season), the base map of Kids City 1997 grew from one building on January 10 into a conglomerate of over 700 businesses and homes, as students learned about city planning. This is the scenario every time a Kids City Program is staged.
Kids City (featured in APA Resources Spring 1994 issue, Vol.5. No.1 and as a special program at the 1996 APA National Planning Conference in Orlando) is a model program for planning education funded by an APA Chapter Presidents' Council grant. A goal is to create an educated constituency that understands the issues of local government. Kids City includes a curriculum and process for teaching planning in grades K-12. As implemented by the City of Myrtle Beach, the program introduces students to local government in a manner that lets them "learn by doing."
At the elementary school level, the concept of communities is part of the third grade curriculum. Teachers at Myrtle Beach Elementary School were provided a Kids City curriculum by the City's Planning Department. The curriculum covers topics such as "How Cities Grow?" "What is Planning?" and "Who Decides What Gets Built and Where Everything Goes?"
The same curriculum is given to the 8th grade classes where the history of South Carolina is taught. An added component to the curriculum is the history of Myrtle Beach. The classes at Myrtle Beach Middle School also receive special presentations from the City Manager on the structure of the local government, the City Budget Director on budgeting, City Planners on comprehensive planning and zoning, the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator on emergency procedures, and from the Education Coordinator at Horry County the history of the area.
In South Carolina, government is taught in high schools as a one semester course. The course emphasizes the federal government with a touch of state government, and virtually nothing about governance at the local level. Students from Myrtle Beach High and Socastee High receive a presentation on the roles and responsibilities of city staff and elected/appointed officials. The City Manager, a City Council member, and Planning Commission member serve on a panel to address their appropriate areas.
The culminating event in Kids City is a time when residents and visitors can become better acquainted with the services and people in local government. During City Day, hundreds of children and adults create their own 3-dimensional city on Friday and Saturday with the groundwork for the event starting in the schools weeks prior to the event.
Preparation included third and fourth grade classes at Myrtle Beach Elementary and Chabad Center designing and constructing residential commercial buildings for the model town. Classes were given a list of buildings to choose from for the start-up community.
The 8th grade classes were responsible for the historic buildings. High school students received special training for their roles as building officials, architects, planners, engineers, and City Council, Planning Commission, and School Board members.
A parade on Friday kicked-off the festival event as 900 students carrying their buildings marched from their schools to the Convention Center. The parade included the City's Police Chief, City Manager, Fire Chief, Planning Commission members, the Junior ROTC Color Guard, clowns, bands, fire truck, police cars and an assortment of special guests such as McGruff and the DARE bear. The City of Myrtle Beach Mayor and the Kids City Mayor officially opened Kids City with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Once inside the Convention Center, the students picked up their building permits at the Town Hall from the high school students who served as the building officials. Kids City Council members assisted the classes in placing the buildings in the appropriate place on the base map, a 40-foot by 80-foot green indoor-outdoor carpeting laid out with streets, ocean, and a tidal creek. Over a public address system the Kids City Mayor welcomed the building owners and their buildings to the start-up community.
On Saturday, Kids City was open to the general public as children and adults were invited to select a lot on the base map with the assistance of a Kids City Planner. The next step was a visit to the Town Hall where the building officials assisted them in getting a building permit.
A Growth Barometer, closely monitored by the building officials, was used to guide the decision-making regarding what got built. A bar on the Growth Barometer indicates the base elements of the start-up town, and is moved upwards as the population, jobs and services are increased.
In Kids City time, an hour represents 6-8 years in the development of the City. The Mayor and Council are rotated every 45 minutes to give everyone an opportunity to serve as well as to coincide with the terms of elections.
When the right ratios are present to build a fire station, hospital or airport, the Mayor and City Council looks for an appropriate site or the School Board Chairperson and Board members locates a new school.
Then, its on to the Builders Supply Store where the Kids City architects and engineers assist in selecting building materials for the structures. Once the materials are ready, the builders head for the Construction Yard where paints, scissors, glue, construction paper, design ideas, etc. are distributed.
Upon completion, builders approach the base map with the assistance of the City Council member. The Mayor announces new arrivals to Kids City, and the building is placed appropriately on the map.
Diane Moskow-McKenzie is a senior planner for the City of Myrtle Beach Planning Department.
